MOORPARK : Restrictions Placed on Concrete Factory

The Moorpark City Council flexed its muscles Wednesday by imposing new restrictions on a concrete factory half a mile west of downtown.

The council voted to extend the operating permit of Conejo Ready Mix Inc. for 10 years on the condition that the company reduce noise, traffic congestion and dust.

The vote represents the first time that Moorpark has had an opportunity to regulate the facility at 13950 E. Los Angeles Ave. Previous operating permits for the 19-year-old company were approved by Ventura County officials before Moorpark incorporated in 1983.

Negotiations over the permit extension lasted more than a year and included threats by Conejo Ready Mix to sue the city for trying to regulate the company’s operation.

City officials said Wednesday that it was unclear whether they had the legal right to impose substantial restrictions as conditions for a permit extension. However, neither side appeared eager to have a court settle the matter.

Wednesday’s council meeting was punctuated by two closed hearings at which council members discussed the threat of litigation before coming to a decision at midnight.

Conejo officials agreed to build a six-foot-high stone wall to block the view of the company’s operations from Los Angeles Avenue. In addition, the company agreed to limit operating hours, help pay for widening congested Los Angeles Avenue and pave parking areas to reduce dust.

The company will also conduct a study of the Arroyo Simi flood channel next to the plant.

City and county officials have been concerned that concrete debris left in the Arroyo Simi are the cause of a two-foot rise in the channel’s water level.